Of Peonies, Chrysanthemums, and Your Smile
by Star-Bening
Summary: This is a story of a sword, a saniwa, and two citadels. He finally got stronger. /Or a story to commemorate an erased citadel because of the saniwa's negligence a year ago. I'm so stupid, really./ CHAPTER 3 UP! Also, Happy Inktober Challenge, Everyone!
1. Peonies

**Of Peonies, Chrysanthemums, and Your Smile**

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Touken Ranbu - DMM & Nitro+

Story and Plot - Star-Bening

Warning: Implicit Character Death, Angst!

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It's almost like waking up from a deep slumber. Familiar, yet foreign feeling started to form in his heart. Or is it? The next thing he know is a flurry of sakura petals and a pair of brown irises.

"I'm Yamanbagiri Kunihiro. What's with the look? Did the fact that I'm a duplicate bothers you?"

Did he just... talk?

"Hum~ I don't think so. Why must it bother me though?"

It seems he just talked since the one standing in front of him responded, and instinctively, reflexively, he pull the fabric on his head down even further.

He can see the body. _His_ body. And he feels weird. All of this time, he only know that the one has this kind of body is a human, not a sword.

Not a duplicate like him.

"Eh... if you done inspecting your body, let's go around the citadel! Where is Konnosuke?"

That voice invades his hearing again, a calm yet child-like voice. He searches for that figure, his new owner.

There they are. A slender figure with brown locks and light blue hakata is standing not far from him. Yamanbagiri wonders if that body is the same as him.

"Aruji-san! Haah...! Don't wander off yourself like that! Even though I'm a shikigami, keeping up with your antics every time still make me tired, you know!" another voice this time. A small bright yellow fox come from the door. Around its neck is a big bell.

His new master only laughs and scratched his head. "I'm so excited you know! This is my first time summoning a sword soul! Look!" They suddenly grabbed his hand. "I did it, Konnosuke! Isn't this a great start?!" they said excitedly.

Yamanbagiri want to snort. Summoning the soul of a duplicate like him is a good start?

"Then we can proceed to sortie. Aruji-san, Yamanbagiri Kunihiro-san, please get ready to do your first sortie." Said the fox shikigami.

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You can say it's not the best first experience.

Bruise and cuts mar his body and sword. The wounds sting and his muscles sore. His new owner isn't that much different either. But that man never complaint. Yamanbagiri stay silent as his young owner brought many sort of thing to him. First he attend to himself, then...

"This is okay. If I'm all in tatters, no one will compare me anymore..." again his body moved without warning. As if he has done this so many times before.

They still grabbed his hand and attends to it carefully. Cleaning the cuts and wounds then bandaged it. "Don't say something as stupid as that. If you are hurt, no matter how small, it's better to attends to it." They say gently.

And Yamanbagiri still finds it weird, for someone to talk to him that gently.

His other hand grabbed that tattered fabric once again, pulling it lower.

A few minute later, they told him to sit next to them. They pull out an uchako, powder and clean cloth. While chanting, they start to clean his sword. Somehow, Yamanbagiri feels a tug in his chest, a nostalgic feeling from long time ago. When he felt this kind of feeling, Yamanbagiri wonders.

Even after they finished tending his sword, that warm feeling in his chest didn't go away.

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Yamanbagiri didn't realize when "you" become "Manba-chan". Maybe it's after they got little Sayo, or maybe after they got Shokudaikiri Mitsutada. That pet name surely bothers him, but he cannot stop a warm feeling to surface every time they call him that. He silently mutters "stupid aruji" as he pulled his hood down after a series of laughter from the saniwa. He feels weird, and he didn't really like it.

"Your name is too long, you know! Manba-chan is better!" they said every time.

Maybe it just one of their trademark, like "Osayo" for the little tantou, "Bebe-san" for Heshikiri Hasebe, and "Yasussan" for Yamatonokami Yasusada. So Yamanbagiri learn to accept the new annoying pet name, just to make sure that he is different from other Yamanbagiri from other four citadels.

For once, he feels like he is him.

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If there is another weird thing from his new owner, he never truly stays in the citadel often. Sometimes it's a week, sometimes it just a few days or even a few hour.

"I also have other work, you know... It's sad to not able to stay here very often, but I truly always miss you all. Especially you, Manba-chan. Really!"

After that, Kashuu Kiyomitsu usually pouts and sulks while muttering "are you not missing me, aruji". Yamanbagiri didn't really mind that. It's still weird to know that they miss him even though he is only a duplicate. But he feels like its normal. He then pulls his hood down again while Horikawa and Yamabushi Kunihiro patted his shoulder.

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Then one day, he comes.

"Yo. I'm Tsurumaru Kuninaga. Are you surprised that somebody like me came here so suddenly?"

A tachi with white pallet, a playful sword under a calm surface, stronger than him, of course. A total opposite of him. And they also realize that. Placing the newly manifested sword immediately to the first team, giving him three gold troops and giving him the only omamori that citadel has.

No. Yamanbagiri doesn't feel jealous at all. Definitely not. He is just a duplicate after all. He knows that his owner will surely find a new stronger, better sword soon. Then he will be obscured once again, just like what a duplicate sword deserved. He is not jealous to Tsurumaru Kuninaga _at all._

Or maybe he is. A little bit.

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"He is late." Yamanbagiri said.

"Who?" asked Horikawa.

Yamanbagiri decided to only sigh. Maybe they have bored to stay in the citadel anymore. Or maybe they already find another stronger sword somewhere and stay with them.

Yamabagiri squeezed his chest, there is a little pain there. He never felt this before.

"Ah~! It's finally done, kyoudai!" Horikawa said after planting the last few seeds. Yamanbagiri nods and bring their tools, "Yes... let's go back." He answered.

Suddenly, the sky looks weird. A portal manifested just above them. Yamanbagiri wonder if another saniwa come to spar their touken danshi with them.

"Is another saniwa coming to our citadel?" seems like Horikawa also have the same mind as him.

A series of lightning strike down not far from them. The impact blow some dust away. When it's cleared up, they can see the black figure of Time Retrograde Army.

"J-jikanshokogun?!" Yamanbagiri cannot believe his eyes. The corrupted sword look at their direction and immediately charging. With great reflex, Yamanbagiri and Horikawa dodged the first attack. Both of them then run as fast as they can to the citadel.

"EVERYONE! THE CITADEL IS UNDER ATTACK!"

And all hell breaks lose.

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How long have he fight? Those black corrupted sword always come back like there is no end of them.

"AKITA!"

A shout heard from his left. Another sword has broken again, it seems. How many of them left he wonders. Also..., when will they come back? Will they ever come back?

Yamanbagiri gritted his teeth and charged to the nearest Time Retrograde Army. His body hurts, his muscle sore, cuts and bruises has formed on his entire body, his sword has dulled from all the stabbing ad cutting. But he cannot stop now. He once again glanced around him. One, two, three, four... Around fifteen swords still able to fight. Then he glanced below him, countless sword, his own comrades and his enemies.

Why did this happen now? Why did this happen when the saniwa is not in the citadel? Will he broke like others? Will this be their end?

Will he... lose everything now...?

"CHARGE!"

That familiar voice finally heard, a calm yet child-like voice, a brave and commanding voice.

A figure then attacks the Time Retrograde Army on his right. Blood splattered everywhere, and there they is, with a glinting sword in their hand, stabbing straight to the corrupted sword abdomen. With one swift movement, they pulled the sword and saw the corrupted sword breaks away.

"I'm seriously late isn't it?" They said.

Yamanbagiri never felt anymore relieved than this.

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All that said, they fight a losing war. From thirty one touken danshis to fifteen to three. Then...

"Jiroutachi!"

Two, he guessed...

Jiroutachi fall down after shielding the saniwa from the Time Retrograde Army's attack. There is only one of them left, but this one is stronger than many others. An ootachi with golden armor. Tsurumaru and Yamanbagiri stand side-by-side in front of the saniwa as they tries to prevents Jiroutachi from breaking. It's futile, he sees. Jiroutachi's blade has long wore down. The sword vessel can't hold the soul any longer.

"This is a very bad situation isn't it?" He heard Tsurumaru Kuninaga speak.

"But we can only fight." Yamanbagiri answers.

Soon, the sword breaks down, leaving the three of them.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga is the first one to move. Yamanbagiri followed not long after. Both of them attacked the ootachi coordinatively. The saniwa also attacks after Tsurumaru and Yamanbagiri give them the opening.

Between attacking and defending, the three of them do it cautiously until Yamanbagiri missed the ootachi's attack. His body thrown quiet far from the battlefield, crashing to the half-standing citadel wall.

"Will I break now...?" he mutters silently. His vision darkens. He can hear the voice of the saniwa, the sound of sword clashing, the sound of spring wind and the faint smell of sakura.

"Ahh... I don't want this..." he thought. He still want to fight, he still want to protect them. He wants to show that he is different from that person. He wants them to recognize him.

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"Will the comparisons continue even after I disappear...?"

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	2. Chrysanthemums

**Of Peonies, Chrysanthemums, and Your Smile**

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Touken Ranbu – DMM & Nitro+

Story and Plot – Star-Bening

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Enjoy!

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He felt his soul floating adrift in empty space. His mind somehow conscious, the fresh pain from the last battle still remain. But he can't feel his body.

'I must have gone back to my soul form...' he thought.

It feels like a long time until he felt a tug. A very familiar tugs, actually. A feeling he once felt. He unconsciously follows that source of tug. Beside him he felt the gravity of other souls, some weak enough to stop moving, others moving slightly faster than him.

'I...'

'I want to go there!' His mind screamed.

Suddenly, he feels like his soul moving faster. Nearer to the source, he can smell charcoal and steel, freshly burnt wood with a hint of ink.

The next thing he knew, his soul is slamming towards something hard. 'A vessel?' he thought. He tries to feel his surrounding once again. There are several other souls, most of them weaker than him.

"I want to be loved by master..."

"Will I be a bird in cage once again?"

"I'm the real one, I'm not a fake, and I'm not a counterfeit..."

'Those are the will of those souls. Then, what is my will?' He asked himself.

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" _I want to get stronger."_

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"I'm Yamanbagiri Kunihiro. ... What's with the look? Does the fact that I'm a duplicate bother you?"

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It's weird. That person, he means. Deep down, Yamanbagiri can remember a blurry vision of a smile, not a frown like what he sees right now.

"I'm sorry if I'm staring, Yamanbagiri-san. Welcome to the citadel. I'm Sadaharu, the saniwa in charge here." They said curtly. They then throw another set of stuffs to a small creature near the forge. 'Is that a shikigami...?' he thought.

"Please follow me, Yamanbagiri-san." They gestured to him, which he followed.

'It's still weird.' Yamanbagiri ponders. He grabbed his hood down as they are walking. He felt like walking and moving around with a human body feels familiar. The fox too, the one walked beside the saniwa, looks overly familiar. Even that name, Sadaharu, huh?

"Ano..."

The voice makes the saniwa and the fox stop walking.

"Have you... summoned me before?" he asked.

The saniwa didn't immediately reply. They eyed him for quite a long time. Yamanbagiri then regrets his question.

"Y-you don't need to answer it, if you don't want to." Yamanbagiri quickly pulled his hood lower than before, "P-please continue." He stammers. Now he feels stupid because he maybe has offended his new master without he knew.

Will they angry at him, he wonders.

As he expected, the saniwa didn't answer. They continue to walk until the three of them arrived in a corridor with a series of shoji doors. "Since you are the first to come, this housing space is still mostly empty. You can choose any room you want, Yamanbagiri-san. Please rest your body before we go out on sorties. I will see how the blacksmith is doing. Excuse me." They said before leaving him alone.

Yamanbagiri didn't move until their back disappears behind a wall, then he turn around and start to inspect the rooms. All of them are almost the same in size, the difference lies in the arrangement of furniture. Some of them are very minimalistic, some of them decorated with a specific palette theme. One of the rooms stands out. Not the one with things like expensive-looking painting, but the one overlooking the field.

'It looks very nostalgic...' he thought. He puts down his sword on the low table and stepped outside the veranda.

'Very nostalgic, indeed...'

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He noticed that the saniwa didn't stay in the citadel often. At first, it's totally fine since there are only him and a few other swords. But their citadel grows very quickly and the saniwa's absent becomes worrying since no one is there to control the situation. The little fox, Konnosuke, has been very busy managing the citadel with him too.

The last time the saniwa went back to their time, they made a group of sword exclusively for managing the citadel. The captain is him, Yamanbagiri Kunihiro, which he finds weird why they choose a copy like him rather than the ever-so-nagging second-in-commands, Heshikiri Hasebe and Kasen Kanesada, who did the administrative work like making reports to the Ministry of Time and monitoring the in-and-out of the citadel's money. The other (unofficial) member will be Horikawa Kunihiro, who is doing his best to keep everyone disciplined in doing their internal affair and the retainer, the captain of the first team. The saniwa usually change it from time-to-time depends on the occasion.

And so they managed to keep the citadel together... but a weird feeling in his stomach won't go away.

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"This is Hisao Kimura. He will be my assistant when I'm gone. That being said, he will be a part of the secretary team." They said one day.

The one the saniwa introduced is a young man that looks like in his mid-twenties, maybe a couple of year older than their saniwa. He looks kind, but also very firm. His whole demeanor says that he is a very proper man. Even then, Yamanbagiri still feels wrong.

"Which post will Hisao-san take then?" asked Kasen Kanesada.

"He will only oversee your sorties and expedition. Other than that, he will help with the internal affair and smithing, but not in charge of summoning and administration. It will still under my juridiction." The saniwa answered immediately.

Yamanbagiri can see the relieved look on Hasebe's face. He is the one doing all the administration work with Yamanbagiri for so long. Even though he always complaints about the lack of help, he never actually want to relinquish his authority over the saniwa's administration duty. It's his pride after all.

"Yamanbagiri-san, please guide him well." They said suddenly. Yamanbagiri only nod and pull his hood lower.

This mean they haven't lost interest of him, have they...?

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It was a bad day. The sun didn't come out and it has been raining since dusk. All internal affair duties has been canceled or limited. They still go on sorties and expeditions though, remembering the weather in the citadel space-time didn't affect the weather outside the citadel's space-time.

The saniwa decided to stay in the citadel longer that time, for Yamanbagiri's relief. He knows the reason though; the new invaded space-time has opened in the timeline of Ikedaya Inn's incident. The sortie's condition is very new to them. Only three type of sword has advantage since the fight will be done indoors, uchigatana, wakizashi, and tantou, since any sword longer than uchigatana can't move freely in such tiny small space. The saniwa has been very eager to finish the task. Not just because the appearance of Time Retrograde Army is very concerning, but there is another problem the saniwa has been worried about...

Kebiishi.

Yamanbagiri only knows that they are fragments of souls so strong that they manifest in human form by their own power. Not perfect like what the saniwa has done, but because of this, the kebiishi is as strong as a touken danshi or even stronger. Konnosuke said that many clusters of strong sword soul have been appearing in that specific timeline. The fox didn't know why it happens, but according to Hisao Kimura who previously worked in the Ministry of Time, that timeline is so vulnerable of disturbance from other time-space. As to why they know that they supposed to protect history, no one knows.

"If we didn't immediately clear that area, I'm afraid it will be hard even for us to move around Ikedaya with that many sword soul clusters. They can make the touken danshi formed a glitch or even corruption after returning to the citadel." Hisao explained.

Yamanbagiri stay silent, as well as the other touken danshi from the secretary team and the current retainer, Imanotsurugi. The little tantou is listening to their conversation seriously, even though Yamanbagiri isn't sure whether the tantou understand or not. The saniwa's face hardens. So far they have protected the history enough so they aren't changing, but the Time Retrograde Army still hasn't completely go away.

"How many time has the team go?" the saniwa asked Hasebe.

"Almost twenty, maybe twenty. All of them barely protected the history." The uchigatana answered.

Yamanbagiri knows his saniwa didn't like that. They want a thorough victory, just like the previous cases with other timelines. Imanotsurugi averts his eyes. He has been the one leading the team all this time. Could it be he blamed himself for not thoroughly beat the Time Retrograde Army?

"Then... let's attack tonight. Yamanbagiri, please call Midare Toushirou, Akita Toushirou, Maeda Toushirou, Yagen Toushirou, and Sayo Samonji. Kasen, please take all musketeer balls we have." The saniwa said with commanding tone. They then glared the hologram map once again.

"We will clean this up tonight."

Yamanbagiri feels like it won't end well.

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"MOVE! PREPARE THE MEDICAL BED! CALL THE SANIWA!"

Two tantou are still standing, Sayo Samonji and Yagen Toushirou to be exact, who holds another three tantou who barely conscious, and one tantou missing. Yamanbagiri could hear the frantic shouts of Hisao Kimura and the chatters of other swords. The quiet citadel now becomes lively, not in a good way.

"Where is Midare?" a question arises from Atsushi Toushirou who just manifested.

This question makes the voices quiet down. Their focus shifted to the five tantou. Imanotsurugi, who is held by Yagen, suddenly become teary eyed. He looks at a sword handle gripped tightly by Akita, but the blade is nowhere to be found.

Yamanbagiri immediately knows that Midare has...

"It's enough. Everyone, please go back to your rooms. We will take it from here." The saniwa's voice startled them.

They picked up Akita and go to the infirmary together with the other four. Hisao wants to follow them but immediately stopped by Kasen, who looks helpless.

Yamanbagiri feels his stomach churns. It almost like he has seen this. He has _thought_ of this possibility, but their citadel never truly lost a comrade all these years, even in the worst battle like Atsukashiyama. So when he sees with his own eyes, he feels weird because he felt familiar with the scene. It almost like he has seen this somewhere, countless time, and it unsettles him.

"Kyoudai."

Horikawa appeared in front of him with a tray of tea. It seems he has took the liberation to make teas for everyone. "Please drink first. I know you must be shocked." The wakizashi said.

Yamanbagiri takes the glass and immediately drinks the contents. Warm feeling suddenly seeped troughout his body. He feels refreshed. "Thank you, kyoudai." Yamanbagiri said with a very small smile. Horikawa flash a smile before offer the tea to other people who still staying in the corridor.

Somehow, even with the tea warming his body, his heart still feels cold.

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"Say, Kasen."

"Hm?" the other responded without stopping his work.

"Do you think... aruji has summoned us before?" Yamanbagiri finally said the thing he wants to know the most.

The purple-haired uchigatana now give his full attention, he tought for a while before answering with a shrug, "Maybe it's because there are _us_ in other citadels."

But that answer doesn't feel satisfying. "That's not what I mean." Yamanbagiri insist. "When I first come to this citadel, I saw something, like a blurry vision, just before the sakura petals disappearing." Yamanbagiri feels his throat going dry, "A smile, but I never saw it again."

Kasen puts away his brush, he seems to be intrigued too. "Maybe I also saw it. That smile, I mean." He suddenly confessed.

Yamanbagiri cannot hold his shock, "T-then, you believe me?" he asked. Kasen only hums and grab another paper, he looks indifferent, but he surely conflicted. "I can't say much about that. But..."

"I think that smile we saw is real."

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Spring is always beautiful in the citadel. The sakura trees are blooming, as well as the wild chrysanthemums around the building. They have been going to the Osaka Castle, looking for swords and koban, and they could say they are very lucky. Around six or seven sword manifested at the same time, Hakata Toushirou, Shinano Toushirou, Gotou Toushirou, Houchou Toushirou, Jiroutachi and Hotarumaru. Other than them, they also finally got the eldest Awataguchi sword, Ichigo Hitofuri, and Tsurumaru Kuninaga.

Yamanbagiri once again feels nostalgic.

The white tachi immediately do all mischievous thing they know, switching Houchou's sweets bag with Yagen's medical kit, setting up traps all around the field, feeding the Kois with crackers until the pool becomes dirty. Yamanbagiri feels bad for the assistant saniwa and Heshikiri Hasebe who always need to clean up the tachi's prank.

At one point, Yamanbagiri see the tachi putted wasabi inside the saniwa's mochi, and he feels like he has seen this scenario. Yamanbagiri almost can narrate the next situation perfectly.

"TSURUMARU!" And yes, the one going mad is Heshikiri Hasebe, who happen to be the retainer that week.

Yamanbagiri sighs. Since the incident with Midare, their saniwa has spent more time in the citadel, but they become quieter than usual. The Awataguchis didn't blame anyone, even Imanotsurugi, the captain that time. Ichigo Hitofuri also keeps silent about this when he heard the story from Yagen Toushirou. Yamanbagiri feels a bit relieved.

One thing he has been wondering is that, many swords suddenly asked their saniwa to go on a journey after they're able to beat the Time Retrograde Army in Ikedaya. The first one to ask is, into his surprise, Izuminokami Kanesada. The uchigatana hasn't been the sword who cares deeply about the saniwa like Heshikiri Hasebe, but he surely did his best as a touken danshi. Yamanbagiri almost guessed Hasebe to be the first one to ask for a journey, or maybe Sayo Samonji, who dotted by the saniwa the most. But the saniwa permitted him anyway, the uchigatana then left a day after that.

When Izuminokami is back, he immediately become the new anchor for the first team. Yamanbagiri knows it, the saniwa needs many strong sword on his rank to beat the ever stronger Time Retrograde Army, but he can't help but wonders if he can grow stronger too.

"I think you are fine this way." The assistant saniwa said. Hisao patted his back knowingly, "I'm sure Sadaharu also feels the same. He chose you as his first sword for a reason, you know."

Yamanbagiri hopes the assistant's word is true.

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A/N: THE SECOND CHAPTER HAS DONE! This chapter was based on my experience playing my second citadel (the current one). I choose Yamanbagiri again for my first sword. You can say I did this as a kind of atonement (retribution?) for my first citadel. What makes me feel bad about my second citadel is that, I broke Midare. This is one of my biggest sin in managing my second citadel. What's more is that, after I broke Midare, a lot of sword come to my citadel (the swords mentioned in the story). Ichigo being the first sword to come after Midare broke together with Hakata and Tsurumaru. I truly feel guilty until now.

Either way! I'm glad that my second citadel grow even bigger than my first one. I even need to buy slots to keep up with all the sword coming into the citadel!

Next chapter is about the kiwame of our dear protagonist here! Stay tuned aaaand Review~


	3. The Bridge, Part 1

It should be a boring expedition like usual. Since he hit the level cap, Yamanbagiri knew the saniwa will focus on other swords, mainly the new kiwame swords like Izuminokami Kanesada, Sayo Samonji, and Yagen Toushiro. It's not that shocking when he knew he has removed from the first team and placed as the captain of the second team.

The government has set up a new training regimen for the saniwas, mainly to level up their touken danshis and training their strategic thinking. But, he also knows their saniwa is eager to get the sword promised by the government, a tantou of Ishida Mitsunari, Hyuuga Masamune.

Yamanbagiri is NOT jealous. No. His brow knitted as he frowns every time other touken danshi said that. Yamanbagiri never jealous whenever those Date sword flirting with the saniwa, or when the tantous get the saniwa's attention more than other sword, or when the saniwa sent other swords to go for their journey before him. He is NEVER jealous.

"It's okay to be jealous, you know. I'm jealous of Izuminokami too. But, if that is what aruji want, I'm sure it's the best for us and the best for the citadel." Said Heshikiri Hasebe, who will replace his position in the first unit.

So he accept the task and go out to gather resources with the other five. He hoped his one day expedition will end soon.

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"RETREAT!"

It should be a boring expedition, but it turns out to be a mess.

They should've not met any Historical Retrograde Army, or any other party like kebiishi. This is the expedition route after all, rarely used by the Historical Retrograde Army since it is too far to make a change in history. But today is different, and they are not prepared for this kind of frontal combat.

Yamanbagiri become the first to run away, making sure the escape route is clear from ambushes. After a while, a blue haired tachi caught up to him. "Where should we go?" Ichigo asked while dodging a few branches.

"There should be some abandoned outposts near here. I'm not sure about it, but it's better than nothing. We still have more than 15 hour before the portal opened."

"Roger that."

He is right about the outposts even though it's not really an outpost. The outpost is actually looked like an abandoned inn or villa. The building has half collapsed and overgrown by trees and tall grass. The other half still standing is full of dusts and cobwebs. From the outside it looks spooky if not for the big sakura tree that bloomed near the collapsed building. The location is also quite desolated and only can be accessed from a crack of space-time in that area. He only ever observed it with Yamabushi when they found it in fear it might transport them to eras he never knew or to places under other saniwa's jurisdiction.

But now, with this kind of predicament, Yamanbigiri felt relieved when he sees the crack of time-space. He thought it will disappear after so long, so he is glad when he is on the lucky side of this gamble. He stopped right before the crack and told the other to go first, "This crack will lead us to an abandoned villa in a forest. Though I'm not sure if the place is safe, it's better than playing chase with the Historical Retrograde Army." he explained.

Ookurikara actually grumbles, but he agrees when Shokudaikiri intervened. The touken danshis quickly when inside the crack and disappear

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"This place is really dusty, isn it?" Kasen Kanesada said grumpily. He held his kimono tight and avoiding everything in his path. He even refused to sit down in the room. "It will ruin my battle gear." He reasoned.

Yamanbagiri didn't bother to debate him and immediately sit down. He then takes out the locket given by the saniwa, actually a pocket watch with the Ministry of Time crest on the other side. His brow knitted and he let out a mumbled complaint.

"Is there something wrong, Yamanbagiri-san?" asked Maeda.

"... is wrong."

The other five circled him immediately. Their focus is on the small locket in Yamanbagiri's hand.

"I didn't see anything wrong," Said Ookurikara. "the watch works perfectly."

Yamanbagiri stare at him instantly, his brows furrowed tighter. "It's not working. How can you say it works perfectly?"

Now the others look at him with a weird look.

"Yamanbagiri-san, it works perfectly like Ookurikara-san said." Maeda agrees.

"As much as I don't want to agree with this Tohoku katana, I agree with him."

"It is as Ookurikara-dono said."

Yamanbagiri shifts his gaze between the swords and the locket. Is he the only one seeing this? Is there something wrong with him? Why is he—

"Manba-san... are you okay?"

Mitsutada's voice pulled him back from his thought. He quickly shoves the locket to Ookurikara's hand and stands up. "I-I... I will search up the place for a while." He said, tugging down his hood and running away from the room. He heard the other tries to stop him, but he want to be alone right now.

No.

He needs to know why this happen.

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"They are surely late isn't it?" a white haired tachi said, looking at the door to the space-time travel room. Beside him, the saniwa assistant also stares at the double door, "Did they got lost, I wonder...?"

"No waaaay! That's impossible, you know. They have gone there like... a hundred times now." The black-haired wakizashi chirped. "Maybe they found more koban and don't know how to bring all of it back."

"It's good if that's the case..."

.

.

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End file.
